Romain Febvre stays second in the points

Kawasaki Racing Team MXGP’s Romain Febvre maintained second position in the FIM World MXGP Motocross Championship standings in difficult conditions at a rain-affected Cozar Motor Ranch in central Spain.

Track conditions were at their heaviest and most severe for the MXGP motos as the rain stopped and the sun appeared each time the contestants in the premier off-road motor cycling series were called to the start. The Frenchman didn’t make the best gate in race one and was severely hampered at turn one when an over-zealous rider slithered to the ground and the Kawasaki rider had to come to a momentary halt behind him. A resilient first half lap saw him recover to eighth and next time round he moved to seventh but there could be no progress after that as he spent a lonely half-hour in what was now a battle of survival. The track was even more unforgiving after further rain before race two. Febvre moved to fifth on lap two from an initial seventh and maintained that position to the finish as the track became heavier by the lap; he narrowly missed the overall podium in fifth but, with an eye to the bigger picture, he carefully avoided potential dangers to maintain second in the series standings as the championships heads to his home GP at St Jean d’Angely next weekend.

Romain Febvre: “Actually I’m pretty happy with what I achieved today; there was much more to lose than to win. The mistake I made in Quali yesterday meant that I could not choose a good place at the gate and that made it so much more difficult for the start. And the start was so important today. The guys who started at the front stayed there; their life was so much easier. It was a different race if you were in the pack; you were getting filled in with dirt the entire race and by the finish the bike must have weighed three hundred kilos and there was ten kilos of mud on your helmet. Of course Gajser took some points but I am still second in the championship headed to my home GP at St Jean next weekend.”

KRT teammate Pauls Jonass was optimistic of another good result after an impressive third in Qualifying. In the first GP moto he started sixth and made passes to advance to fourth by the end of the opening lap, but mistakes started to creep into his riding and a fall on lap four, which left rider and controls covered in sticky mud, cost him more than a dozen positions before the Latvian regained his composure to move back to sixteenth at the finish. The rain stopped and the sun appeared to greet a stunning holeshot in race two and, although he surrendered the lead as early as turn two, he maintained a top-three ranking until he bogged down in a deep rut on lap two and spent the remainder of the moto chasing teammate Febvre in sixth. Despite his unfortunate opening moto he holds ninth in the series standings but is just four points from fifth.

Pauls Jonass: “I was so happy about my starts – I even took the holeshot in race two – but I was really disappointed about my riding, especially in that first moto. That was terrible; I was riding like an amateur. I just pushed too hard during the first laps, didn’t get a flow and struggled in the ruts; I only started riding decent in the last fifteen minutes of race two. It wass the same for everybody and I usually enjoy mud but sometimes it can be a bit of a game of luck and it was super heavy sticky mud after it stopped raining.”

Kawasaki Racing Team MX2’s Mathis Valin had an unfortunate day in racing for the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship. The teenager had to choose a gate a little wider to the outside than on Saturday, when he had holeshot, but emerged just outside the top-six from the first turn in torrential rain at the start of race one and made quick passes to advance to fourth. His position appeared secure for more than half the race until he fell heavily; he bravely tried to continue but a painful right hand soon forced him to pull off the track and he did not start race two.

Antti Pyrhönen (KRT team manager): “Mathis was riding really well today; he had a decent start and was comfortable in fourth, riding without any risk, until he lost his balance on a small downhill. As he hit the ground he hurt his right hand and it was too painful for him to start race two. We already took X-rays and they found nothing, but tomorrow we will have another scan to check carefully. Fingers crossed that he will be fine.”

It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for the Team Venum Bud Racing Kawasaki’s riders in the opening round of the European EMX250 Motocross Championship but both Francisco Garcia and Jake Cannon showed clearly that they will be title candidates as each posted a second-placed moto finish. Australian teenager Cannon had raced to an impressive second place in Saturday’s first moto on his series debut but a first corner crash and subsequent pit stop for fresh goggles and gloves in Sunday morning’s muddy second race cost him more than a minute and he spent the rest of the moto chasing to eventually finish just out of the points in twenty-first. His Spanish teammate had been eliminated on Saturday when holding second place but he rebounded defiantly in the second moto; from third place on the opening lap, in a race run in even muddier conditions after further overnight rain, he advanced to second on lap four and chased the eventual winner to the chequered flag for the team’s second runner-up moto finish of the weekend. With twelves rounds of the series remaining both riders have plenty of opportunity to reduce their nineteen-point deficit to the individual points-leader and their two impressive rides mean that Kawasaki is second, just six points from the lead, in the manufacturers’ championship.

Francisco Garcia: “I had a good feeling with the bike and the track both days, even though the track conditions were really difficult because of the rain; I am Spanish so this was my home GP but the weather is not normally like this in Spain (laughs).  It’s just a pity about the DNF yesterday, but the championship is long and my physical and metal condition are both good. l think this will be a good year for me and next week is the team’s home GP in France so let’s go for it.”

Jake Cannon: “I was over the moon with my first race in EMX yesterday but I crashed off the start today and then I lost another minute when I needed to stop in the pits for fresh goggles and gloves; I felt comfortable riding in the mud both days but I just need to get round the first turn, stay off the ground and minimise those mistakes.”